HomeMy WebLinkAboutUNION-1993-19-02
IN THE MA TIER OF AN ARBITRATION PURSUANT TO THE
LABOUR RELATIONS ACT R.S.O.1990 c.L.2
BETWEEN:
THE CARLETON PLACE AND DISTRICT MEMORIAL HOSPITAL'
the Hospital
AND:
THE ASSOCIATION OF ALLIED HEALTH PROFESSIONALS: ONTARIO
the Association
ASSOCIATION GRIEVANCE RE: RETROACTIVITY OF
PERCENTAGE IN LIEU, VACATION PAY AND PREGNANCY
LEAVE SUPPLEMENTAL UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT PLAN
SOLE ARBITRATOR:
J.E. Emrich
APPEARANCES:
R. Bunker
Consultant, O.H.A.
Asst. Executive Director,
Human Relations and Special Services
Asst. Executive Director"
Finance and Support Services
Payroll Officer
For the Hospital:
J. Wakely
A. O'Brien
G. Todd
For the Association:
P. Hunt
S. McCulloch
H. Hemsley
Counsel, Soloway & Wright
Labour Relations Officer
Bargaining Unit Representative
Hearing held at Ottawa, 0 ntario on the 1 st day of August 1991
The Association filed a grievance on April 3, 1991 claiming that the Hospital
did not implement the parties' first collective agreement properly. The Association
asserts that retroactivity was n,ot paid in respect to the percentage-in-lieu and
vacation pay. Furthermore, it is claimed that the Hospital failed to register the
maternity leave supplemental unemployment benefit plan on a timely basis and
breached the collective agreement by not providing the maternity leave SUB
benefit retroactive to September 1, 1990 as agreed. A further allegation that the
Hospital had not calculated service and seniority properly was withdrawn as the
parties had resolved that issue. By way of remedy, the Association claims
payment of retroactive percentage-in-Iieu and vacation pay with interest, and
payment of an amount in damages equivalent to the supplemental unemployment
benefit that ought to have been paid in respect to an employee on maternity leave
from October, 1990 to the end of December, 1990. The Association claimed
interest on any such damages awarded.
I. ENTITLEMENT TO MATERNITY LEAVE SUPPLEMENTAL UNEMPLOYMENT
BENEFIT
The particular provisions pertaining to the maternity leave SUB plan are
Article 18.01 (h) of the part-time collective agreement and Article 19.01 (h) of the
full-time collective agreement. These provisions are identical in wording and read
as follows:
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Effective September 1, 1990 on confirmation by the
Unemployment Insurance Commission of the
appropriateness of the Hospital's Supplemental
Unemployment Benefit (SUB) Plan, an employee who is
on maternity leave as provided under this agreement who
is in receipt of Unemployment Insurance pregnancy
benefits pursuant to Section 30 of the Unemployment
Insurance Act 1971, shall be paid a supplemental
unemployment benefit. That benefit will be equivalent to
the difference between seventy-five percent (75%) of her
regular weekly earnings and the sum of her weekly
Unemployment Insurance benefits and any other
earnings. Such payment shall commence following
completion of the twb week Unemployment Insurance
waiting period, and receipt by the Hospital of the
employee's Unemployment Insurance cheque stub as
proof that she is in receipt of Unemployment Insurance
pregnancy benefits, and shall continue while the
employee is in receipt of such benefits for a maximum
period of fifteen (15) weeks. The employee's regular
weekly earnings shall be determined by multiplying her
regular hourly rate on her last day worked prior to the
commencement of the leave times her normal weekly
hours.
The general retroactivity clause is Article 33.01 of the full-time collective
agreement and Article 30.01 of the part-time collective agreement. The clauses
are identical in wording and read as follows:
ARTICLE 30 - RETROACTIVITY
30.01
Retroactivity shall apply to the general wage increase and
shall be based on all hours paid from November 17; 1988
for both full-time and part-time employees. Retroactivity
shall be paid within sixty (60) days of the Award.
Employees who have terminated their employment since
November 17, 1988 shall be given notice within thirty
(30) days from the date of the Award, by registered mail
at their address last known by the Hospital, and shall
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have sixty (60) days from the date of such notice within
which to claim retroactive payment.
Retroactive pay will be paid on a separate cheque.
The parties entered into a letter of intent dated May 11, 1990 which is
appended to both the full-time a.nd part-time collective agreements. Paragraphs 1
and 2 of this letter of intent are relevant to the matter before me:
1. In the event an employee goes on maternity leave prior to
September 1, 1990, the Supplemental Unemployment
Insurance Benefit will be retroactive to the date of the maternity
leave.
2. Unless otherwise stated, the collective agreements shall
become effective the date of the Keller Arbitration Award.
The evidence establishes that the parties reached agreement upon the
maternity leave SUB plan on May 11, 1990 during negotiations for the full-time
and part-time collective agreements. The adoptive leave SUB plan was referred to
interest arbitration and was awarded by the board of arbitration chaired by
Arbitrator Brian Keller. The Keller award was issued November 3, 1990. It was
common ground that the adoptive leave SUB plan was awarded effective from the
date of the award, subject to the necessary approvals from the Unemployment
Insurance Commission (UIC).
On November 7th, the payroll clerk for the Hospital, Ms. Todd, contacted
Mr. Yvan Boudreault, Coverage Officer, Coverage and Premium Policy Division of
UIC to obtain advice concerning the process and information required to register
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the plans. By letter dated November 13, 1990, Mr. Boudreault responded to Ms.
Todd's enquiry, enclosing a copy of the document entitled "Information on
Supplemental Unemployment Benefits". The document describes the object' of
such a plan and the effect of UIC approval of the plan in the following terms at
p.l :
An employer, either on his own initiative or through the
collective bargaining process, may introduce a
supplemental unemployment benefit (SUB) plan for his
employees. The object of a SUB plan is to supplement
unemployment insurance benefits paid by the Canada
Employment and Immigration Commission during
temoorarv oeriods of unemployment due to lack of work,
sickness, maternity or adoption. A SUB plan must be
approved by the Commission before it becomes
operational. otherwise the SUB payments will be
considered as earnings and may be subject to deduction
from the unemployment insurance benefits payable to the
employees.
Payments made through the approved SUB plan are not
considered as earnings for Unemployment Insurance (Un
benefit purposes, nor are they insurable, thus no
Unemployment Insurance (Un premium is payable.
However, these amounts are subject to income tax and
may also be subject to Canada Pension Plan (CPP)
premiums. This should be verified with the Source
Deduction Unit of a Revenue Canada Taxation District
Office.
In order to receive Commission approval, the plan must
meet certain criteria which are outlined under the heading
"Standard Criteria for SUB Plans". Providing a plan
meets the criteria and has received Commission approval,
monies paid in accordance with the plan will not be
considered as earnings for benefit purposes.
(emphasis added)
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At p.2 of the document, the relevant portion of clause 9 of the Standard
Criteria states "The effective date of the plan must be stated and duration, of the
plan must be at least one year". I find that nothing in the letter or in the enclosed
document alerted the Hospital to the fact that UI Regulation 57(13) was about to
be amended so as to change a practice of the UlC regarding backdating approval of
SUB plans. Furthermore, the evidence of Ms. Todd was to the effect that she was
given no warning from any officer of the Commission prior to November 19, 1990
that the UIC regulations were changing.
On November 19, 1990, Ms. Todd forwarded a letter containing information
about the SUB plan with excerpts from the O.N.A., C.U.P.E. and A.A.H.P:O.
collective agreements pertaining to maternity leave, and excerpts from the C.U.P.E.
and A.A.H.P:O. collective agreements and the Keller award pertaining to the
adoptive leave SUB plan. Further correspondence ensued until eventually a letter
dated March 5, 1991 was received by Ms. Todd confirming that the UIC had
approved the SUB plan for maternity and adoption covering members of the
O.N.A., C.U.P.E. and A.A.H.P.O. bargaining units effective on December 4,1990
until March 31, 1991. Indeed, it was not until Ms. Todd had received a letter
dated January 31, 1991 from another coverage officer at UIC that she was made
aware that effective November 18, 1990 there had been a change to UI Regulation
57(13) which now required SUB plans to be submitted for approval prior to the
stated effective date. It was common ground between the parties that they had
understood the UIC regulations and practice to be that regardless of the date the
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SUB plan is submitted for approval, the UIC would backdate its approval to
coincide with the effective date of the SUB plan as agreed by the parties in the
collective agreement. This was the assumption underlying the parties' intentions in
agreeing to an effective date of September 1, 1990 for the maternity leave SUB
plan in both the full-time and part-time collective agreements.
Counsel for the Hospital urged me to construe the maternity leave SUB
provisions in such a way as to conclude that the Hospital's obligation to pay the
maternity leave SUB plan benefit did not arise until approval of the plan by the UIC
was confirmed - that is, not until December 4, 1990. I find that the language of
the collective agreement provision does not support such a construction. If the
parties had intended that confirmation of approval of the plan by the UIC were to
operate as a condition, such that the obligation to pay the benefit would not arise
unless or until UIC approval had been obtained, they should have used clearer
language to effect such a result. The Hospital's argument that UIC approval of the
SUB plan was to operate as a condition rather than a term would have been
supported if the clause had read, "On condition that the Unemployment Insurance
Commission has confirmed its approval of the Hospital's SUB plan effective from
September 1, 1990, an employee who is on maternity leave as provided .., shall be
paid a supplemental unemployment benefit" .
The language chosen by the parties discloses no patent ambiguity. I find
that the parties intended UIC approval of the maternity leave SUB plan to operate
as a term rather than as a condition upon which the obligation to pay the benefit
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would depend. I further find that the parties agreed that effective from September
1, 1990, an employee who is on maternity leave and who meets the othe~
eligibility criteria articulated in the section, shall be paid a supplemental
, unemployment benefit. The term requiring confirmation by the Unemployment
Insurance Commission of the appropriateness of the Hospital's Supplemental
Unemployment Benefit (SUB) plan was met as of December 4, 1990. Once that
term was met, the obligation to pay the maternity leave SUB benefit was agreed to
operate from September 1, 1990. Indeed, to the extent that there is any latent
ambiguity concerning the effective date from which the parties intended the
obligation to pay to operate, resort may be had to paragraph 1 of the appended
Letter of Intent dated May 11, 1990. There is no mention of any pre-condition
concerning approval by the UIC of the appropriateness of the SUB plan in
paragraph 1 prior to the agreed effective date of September 1, 1990. The parties
expressly agreed that if an employee goes on maternity leave prior to September 1,
1990, the Supplemental Unemployment Insurance Benefit is stipulated to be
retroactive to the date the maternity leave actually commences.
Resort may be had as well to the testimony of Ms. McCulloch, the Labour
Relations Officer of A.A.H.P:O., who sat on the negotiating committee for these
first collective agreements. She testified that it was known to the parties at the
time of negotiations that a bargaining unit member, Sherri O'dette, would be taking
maternity leave in the fall of 1990. Her evidence to this effect stood
uncontradicted. The testimony of Ms. McCulloch and Ms. Todd indicated that
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maternity leave SUB benefits had been paid under the terms of the C.U.P.E. and
O.N.A. collective agreements, in accordance with the effective dates agre~d,
despite the fact that these plans were approved later on December 4, 1990.
, Apparently, the Hospital did not know that these other plans had not been
registered and approved by the UIC.
I find that the assumption underlying the parties' agreement as expressed in
the full-time and part-time A.A.H.P.O. collective agreements and in the appended
letter of intent was that the maternity leave SUB benefit would be payable to Ms.
O'dette from the time she went on maternity leave. The parties intended a
retroactive effective date for the payment of the SUB plan benefit to an otherwise
entitled employee on maternity leave, once the term requiring confirmation of UIC
approval was met. This confirmation was obtained. It follows therefore, that Ms.
O'dette was entitled to the SUB plan benefit from the time she went on maternity
leave in October, 1990 assuming that she met the other eligibility criteria outlined
in the article. The testimony of Ms. McCulloch was to the effect that Ms. O'dette
was paid the SUB benefit from December 4 to the end of December, 1990.
In the result, for the reasons given, this aspect of the Association's
grievance is allowed. The submissions of the Association indicate that Ms. O'dette
was a member of the part-time bargaining unit at the time she took maternity leave
in the fall of 1990. I declare that the Hospital breached Article 18.01 (h) of the
part-time collective agreement by failing to pay the maternity leave SUB plan
benefit effective from the commencement of her maternity leave in October, 1990.
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If I am mistaken, and Ms. O'dette was a member of the full-time bargaining unit at
the time of taking maternity leave, then I declare that Article 19.01 (h) was, so
breached. The evidence and the submissions of the parties indicates that the
change to UI Regulation 57(13) now renders it impossible for the SUB benefit itself
to be paid for the time period prior to December 4, 1990. Thus, the Association
has asked that damages be awarded to Ms. O'dette in lieu of payment of the SUB
benefit. The quantum of damages would be calculated as the amount of the SUB
plan benefit that should have been paid, less the amount of SUB plan benefit she
did receive from December 4, 1990. I accede to the request of the Association
and so award damages. However, given that SUB plan benefits received under an
approved plan are not considered earnings and are not deducted from the
unemployment insurance benefits payable but would be subject to income tax and
may be subject to other deductions, I remit to the parties any tax consequences or
other similar problems arising from calculating the award of damages in lieu of the
SUB plan benefit otherwise payable. I reserve jurisdiction to resolve any problem
arising concerning compensation or other problem of implementation arising from
the award of damages, which the parties are unable to resolve.
The Association has asked for interest on the award of damages. I find that
the Hospital did not act unreasonably in applying to register the SUB plan for
maternity and adoptive leave together. The Hospital acted with due diligence to
collect and remit the information necessary to obtain approval of the SUB plan,
once it received the Keller award which awarded the adoptive leave plan. I find
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that at the time it applied for approval of the plans, the Hospital was labouring
under a mistake of law that regulations governing approval by the UIC would allow
approval retroactive to the agreed effective date of September 1, 1990.
There is a division of opinion as to the authority of an arbitrator to award
interest on damages awarded. This division of arbitral authorities is examined in
Re Hawker Siddelev Canada Inc. and International Association of Machinists
(1990) 12 L.A.C. (4th) 251 (Davis) and the conclusion is drawn that there is .
implicit authority to award interest on damages in order to provide a final and
binding settlement of the dispute in accordance with the governing statutory
mandate and as an integral part of a "make whole" remedy. I would support the
reasoning of the Hawker-Siddelev case in principle. On the facts of this case
however, I would limit the calculation of interest to the period of time between the
date in October, 1990 when Ms. O'dette should have commenced receiving her
SUB plan benefit to December 4, 1990 when the Hospital commenced paying it.
Interest is to be calculated in accordance with the practice of the Ontario Labour
Relations Board.
II. RETROACTIVITY ON THE PERCENTAGE-iN-LIEU
The relevant provision of the part-time collective agreement is Article 26.04:
26.04
Percentaae-in-lieu of benefits
A part-time employee shall receive in lieu of all fringe
benefits (being those benefits to an employee, paid in
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whole or in part by the hospital, as part of direct
compensation or otherwise, including holiday pay, save
and except salary, vacation pay, standby pay, call-in pay,
shift premium, weekend premium, responsibility pay, jury
and witness duty, bereavement leave and Supplemental
Unemployment Benefits) an amount equal to fourteen
percent (14%) of her regular straight time hourly rate for
all straight time hours paid.
The part-time employees' hourly rate (or straight time
hourly rate) in this agreement does riot include the
additional fourteen percent (14%) in lieu of fringe
benefits and accordingly the fourteen percent (14%) add
on payment in lieu of fringe benefits will not be included
for the purposes of computing vacation pay, overtime
payments or any other premium payment.
The Association claimed that the Hospital breached the collective agreement
by not calculating the percentage-in-Iieu using the increased wage rates made
retroactive to November 17, 1988 pursuant to Article 30.01, the general clause
pertaining to retroactivity. The Association further claimed that the percentage-in-
lieu at the increased rate of 14% should be applied retroactive to November 17,
1988.
ARTICLE 30 - RETROACTIVITY
30.01
Retroactivity shall apply to the general wage increase and
shall be based on all hours paid from November 17, 1988
for both full-time and part-time employees. Retroactivity
shall be paid within sixty (60) days of the Award. '
Employees who have terminated their employment since
November 17, 1988 shall be given notice within thirty
(30.) days from the date of the Award, by registered mail
at their address last known by the Hospital, and shall
have sixty (60) days from the date of such notice within
which to claim retroactive payment.
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, Retroactive pay will be paid on a separate cheque.
At the outset, the parties stipulated some agreed facts:
1. Under the pre-collective agreement regime, the old percentage-
in-lieu of benefits for part-time employees was 8% for some
employees, 12% for others.
2. The percentage-in-lieu under the collective agreement for the
term November 18,1988 to March 31,1991 is 14%.
3. Retroactivity was not paid by the Hospital in respect of the
percentage-in-Iieu for the period prior to November 3, 1990.
4. The collective agreement for the term November 18, 1988 to
March 31, 1991 is a first collective agreement. The effective
date of this collective agreement is November 3, 1990 pursuant
to the interest arbitration award of a board of arbitration chaired
by Arbitrator Keller and constituted pursuant to the provisions
of the Hosoitallabour Disoutes Arbitration Act R.S.O. 1980
c.205.
In accordance with Article 26.01, Schedule" A" to the collective agreement
sets forth the straight-time hourly salary rates payable during the term of the
collective agreement. It is common ground that these rates embody a "general
wage increase" as mentioned in Article 30.01. The Association argues that since
Article 26.04 states that the percentage-in-lieu is "an amount equal to fourteen
percent {14%} of her regular straight time hourly rate for all straight time hours
paid", the in-lieu amount must be calculated on the new straight time hourly rates
set forth in Schedule "A" effective from November 17, 1988. Furthermore, the
Association claims that the level of percentage at 14% replaces the pre-contractual
rates of 8% and 12% effective from November 17,1988.
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A reading of the collective agreement as a whole does not support the
Association's arguments. The parties have expressly stipulated retroactive dates
where they intended the clause to have retroactive effect. One example is the
Article pertaining to the maternity leave SUB plan discussed above. Other
examples of provisions in the full-time and part-time collective agreements for
which the parties specified retroactive dates are itemized in a letter dated
December 3, 1990 from Ms. McCulloch to the Chief Executive Officer of the'
Hospital. Ms. McCulloch's letter enclosed the two collective agreements as we!1
as the salary scales which incorporate the wage increases awarded retroactive to
November 17, 1988. It is common ground that the Keller award, which imposed
the wage increase, specified the retroactive date for such increases as set out in
Article 30.01. I conclude that the absence of a retroactive date in Article 26.04 is
significant and reveals that the parties did not intend this provision to have
retroactive effect.
Furthermore, I note that Article 26.04 expressly states that the percentage-
in-lieu payment is not folded into the salary schedule set forth in Schedule" A".
Rather, the parties expressly stipulate that the part-time employees' hourly rate (or
straight time hourly rate) "does not include the additional fourteen (14%) in lieu of
fringe benefits". This language is therefore quite distinct from the languauge
considered by the board of arbitration chaired by Arbitrator Saltman in Re 132
Particioatina Hosoitals and Ontario Nurses' Association (unreported) dated March
30, 1984. Article 18.01 (b) of the collective agreement in that case stated that the
13 '
hourly salary rates were inclusive of the 14% percentage-in-Iieu. Article 18.10 of
that collective agreement provided that increases to the salary schedule were to be
retroactive to October 1. 1980. Since the percentage-in-lieu formed an integral
part of ~he houdy salary rates pursuant to Article 18.01 (bl, the salary schedule
derived, from such hourly rates and the retroactive effect of such salaries pursuant
to Article 18.10 dictated the conclusion reached that increases to the percentage-
in-lieu must be retroactive. The language in Article 26.04 in the collective
agreement before me is quite diffl:lrent.
Furthermore, had the parties intended the 14% level of percentage-in-lieu to
be retroactive beyond the effective date of the collective agreement, they would
have so specified. Article 26.04, when read with Article 26.01, Schedule "A" and
Article 30.01, indicates that the parties intended that the increasese to the salary
grid onlv would be given retroactive effect. The parties chose not to agree to a
specific retroactive date for the percentage-in-lieu to change from 8% to 12% to
14% prior to the effective date of the collective agreement. Section 1 O(9) of the
Hosoital Labour Disoutes Arbitration Act R.S.O. 1980 c.205 states that the
effective date is to be the date of the interest arbitration award, unless a different
date is agreed or awarded. No such retroactive date was agreed.
The Hospital drew my attention to the unreported award dated November
17, 1990 of the interest board of arbitration chaired by Arbitrator IlIing between
Toronto East General Hosoital and Service Emolovees International Union. Local
204 for an example of language in an interest arbitration award which would have
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the effect of importing the general wage increase into the calculation of the
percentage-in-Iieu as an express direction. At pages 19-20, the board directs the
following:
Retroactivity to October 11, 1989 shall apply only to the
general wage increase and classification adjustments and
shall be paid on the basis of hours paid since that date.
The existing percentage in lieu of benefits will be
calculated and paid on the retroactive payments for part-
time employees, for the period from October 11, 1989 to
the date of effecting the increase.
(emphasis added)
No such wording is contained in Article 26.04 or Article 30.01 of the collective
agreement. Where the parties intended to have retroactive effect to the
entitlements in the collective agreement. they have so specified.
I received the interest arbitration award between these parties disposing of
the outstanding issues for their first collective agreement subject to a reservation
concerning the use that could be made of this extrinsic evidence. I do not find
that language of the collective agreement in respect to the percent-in-Iieu issues
argued by the Association to be patently or latently ambiguous. The clear
language of the agreement does not support the position taken by the Association.
If I am mistaken and these provisions are latently ambiguous, I would
conclude that the extrinsic evidence supports the interpretation I have given to the
operative provisions. ' Set forth at page 15 of the award is the Association proposal
in respect to the issue of retroactivity. The relevant section of that proprosal
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clearly called for retroactive compensation in lieu of benefits and vacation pay to
November 17,1988:
33.01
Increases in salary (based on all hours paid),
compensation in lieu of benefits and vacation pay shall be
retroactive to November 17, 1988. Such retroactivity ,
shall be paid within 3 pay periods of the date of the
award. Employees who have terminated their
employment since November 17, 1988, shall be given
notice within fifteen (15) days following the award by
registered mail at their address last known by the
Hospital, and shall have sixty (60) days from the date.
The Hospital proposal only allowed for retroactivity on the general wage
increase:
Retroactivity shall apply to the general wage increase and
shall be based on all hours paid from November 17, 1988
for both full-time and part-time employees. Retroactivity
shall be paid within sixty {60} days of the Award.
Employees who have terminated their employment since
November 17, 1988 shall be given notice within thirty
(30) days from the date of the Award, by registered mail
at their address last known by the Hospital, and shall
have sixty (60) days from the date of such notice within
which to claim retroactive payment.
Retroactive pay will be paid on a separate cheque.
The board of arbitration, without much elaboration of its reasons, awarded the
Hospital's proposal, which allows retroactivity on wages only and not
compensation in lieu of benefits and vacation pay.
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For all the reasons given, the grievance in respect to the retroactivity of the
percentage-in-lieu is dismissed.
III. RETROACTIVITY OF VACATION PAY AND THE PERCENTAGE-IN-lIEU OF
VACATION
The heading to Article 31.01 of the full-time collective agreement pertaining
to vacations contains a notation in brackets that the Article is effective from April
1, 1990. No such notation appears at the heading or in any other clause
pertaining to vacations in Article 28 of the part-time collective agreement.
Vacation pay for part-time employees is dealt with in Article 28.02:
28.02
Part-time employees shall be entitled to the vacation time
off annually as is allowed full-time employees in their
respective classifications. .vacation pay for part-time
employees shall be as follows:
3 week vacation entitlement - 6% of earnings
4 week vacation entitlement - 8% of earnings
5 week vacation entitlement - 10% of earnings
6 week vacation entitlement - 12% of earnings
It was an agreed fact that prior to the collective agreement, all part-time
employees received vacation pay at the rate of 6% of earnings. The collective
agreement increased the percentage-in-lieu of vacation rate to 8% for those part-
time employees holding baccalaureate degrees.
As noted above, the retroactivity clause awarded in Article 30.01 backdates
only the general wage increase to November 17, 1988 for part-time employees. I
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find that "earnings" must be calculated upon the straight-time hourly rates as they
were up to November 3, 1990 and thereafter the increased wage rates as set forth
in Schedule "A" would form the basis of calculating "earnings" in Article 28:02.
Article 28.02 specifically provides that part-time employees are to receive
the same vacation time off annually as is allowed full-time employees in their
respective classifications. Article 30.01, subsections (a) through (g) inclusive, of
the full-time collective agreement sets forth the formula for the accrual of vacation
time entitlement as expressed in days per month of service and in some instances
in its weekly equivalent. Article 31.01 of the full-time collective agreement and
Article 28.01 of the part-time collective agreement contain a formula for
determining the service equivalent of part-time service to equal one year of full-
time service. Thus, in order to determine the part-time employee's annual
entitlement to vacation time off, recourse must be had to Article 31.01 of the full:
time collective agreement. In this respect, it is specifically indicated that part-time
employees are to enjoy the same entitlement as their full-time counterparts in their
respective classifications.
In order to understand the meaning of the ambiguous note to the heading to
Article 31 in the full-time collective agreement, it is helpful to resort to the Keller
award which disposed of a dispute of the parties concerning quantum 'of vacation' ,
entitlement for full-time employees and awarded the Association proprosal
effective April 1, 1990. It becomes clear that it is the quantum of vacation time
off which was given retroactive effect. and not vacation pay.
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For the reasons given, the Association's claim that the Hopital breached the
collective agreemen by failing to give retroactive effect to the calculation of
vacation payor by failing to give retroactive effect to the increase in the
. percentage-in-Iieufrom 6% to 8% for part-time employees with B.A. degrees fails.
That aspect of the grievance is dismissed.
Dated at Kingston, Ontario on this 19th day of February, 1993.
Ct ,jF,E~)
\ Jane E. Emrich
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